Gravestone
by Rannin
Summary: If you here the words "Messed up family in Warriors" you think Jayfeather or Leafpool. Here's another cat for you to think about: Darkstripe. Warriors humanized, rated M for language.
1. Problem Child

"I just don't know what I'm going to do with him," came the voice from down stairs that could only belong to my mother. I crept silently down the carpet stairwell, peeking out from behind the wall to watch my mother stare despairingly down at the plastic covered counter top. We still owned cordless phones, I'm sad to say, and so she was restricted to standing in place. "I've been having to raise him on my own for eleven years now, and you know it hasn't been easy!"

Yeah, yeah, cry me a river. It's not my fault you treated me like I was some bastard child who didn't deserve to have a regular life. None of the kids at school would even talk to me, all because I once beat up some 1st grader a few months ago. He had tried to take my scissors away from me during art and, well, let's just say that I let him keep the scissors, one way or another. I continued to listen, "Maybe he does need a male role model in his life. Someone to teach him right from wrong. God knows he wouldn't listen to me." The person on the other line spoke for a minute, "Don't call him a problem child, he's better than that- " That was all it took.

I stepped out from my hiding place, my greasy black hair glinting off the fluorescent lights hanging from the kitchen, "I'm not a problem child," I stated defiantly as my mother whipped around to face me.

"Leopardfoot, I'll have to call you back," Her eyes were kept on me as she hung up the phone. "Darkpaw, what were you doing back there? You know it's not polite to eavesdrop on other peoples' conversations!"

"Aw, Jesus mom, who gives a fuck?" Was my normal reply. I was granted a hard slap across the face before my mom took her turn.

"I've told you a million times, and I'll tell you again," her voice was barely a whisper, "Do not use that kind of language in this house." My only response was to glare back at her. Most people find it hard to stare straight back into her icy blue eyes, but after years of throwing things and having them thrown back at you has made you defiant and stubborn, two qualities that I've been building ever since my accidental birth. My mother was relatively young for someone in her position- she had given birth to me when she was 16, after being raped by one of the men she looked after at Mousefur's Old Folks Home (founded by Mousefur herself and still running the place after 36 years). Tawnyspots, I think his name was. I never met him, he wasn't on his medication and killed himself the day after.

But the damage was done and after months of forsaken vomiting and back pains, I was born. Hallelujah, praise the lord. Mom and I still had his last name, Mccoubrey, which some idiots found hard to pronounce. The doctors could feel the shame washing over my mother every time she looked at me in the hospital that she refused to receive a birth certificate and tried to remember my name on her own. At first it was Nightkit, then it Moonkit, and then it was who-the-hell-knows-anymorekit, and she finally settled on Darkkit, because she said that darkness clouded her vision every time she looked at me and remembered what Tawnyspots did to make me possible.

But what the hell did I care what hardships she went through, she couldn't even bother to remember my name half the time! At least Tawnyspots had isome/i sense left in him. He would've made a great father.

My mother (did I mention her name was Willowpelt? See, I don't forget names) started nudging me toward the stairs. "Come on, Darkpaw, you've gotta get ready for school. Mommy has a big day in front of her."

"Don't talk to me like I'm a little kid!" I squirmed out of her reach as I began trudging up the stairs.

"Then don't act like one!" She yelled after me as I slammed the door to my room shut. I leaned against it and looked around my prison cell. It consisted of a small bunk bed that I pray will never be used, a huge stereo, a stack of CDs, an old wooden dresser, and clothes strewn all over the floor that was yet to be unearthed. Seizing the stereo's remote I pressed a button and music suddenly filled the second floor.

Aliiiiive

Just open your eyes

Just open your eyes

And see that life

Is

Beautifuuuuuul

Will you swear on your life

That no one will cry

At

My

Funeral?

I let the pounding beats of Sixx AM fill my body as I blindly pulled on the clothes nearest to me. I bothered to look in the mirror for a split second to fix my hair before stepping out and grabbing the tattered sneakers that lay faithfully near my door each morning. Pulling on the strings of the last one and not watching where I was going, I tumbled down the stairs and painfully landed head first against the wall.

"Ugh…" I went to rub the back of my head, forgetting about my shoe lace for a second. I looked up and saw my muddied backpack on a chair at the table, a lone banana lying on its side, a note from Willowpelt on top of it. It only read that she had to run out the door to go to work and that (as always) I was on my own for transportation. "Fantastic."

I was lucky that the school was only two blocks from my house. We lived in kind of a run-down part of town so nobody from school ever bothered to stalk me and follow me home. No gang would ever try to jump me. I was my own gang, and I was at the top of the pyramid. Locking the metal gate that crossed our door and jumping down the stone steps and onto the sidewalk, my backpack clanging against my back, something sharp jabbing me in the back bone. I rubbed the sore spot and continued on, past the small apartment where my grandpa Adderfang lived, past the alleys that served as my main place of escape during stormy days. It was April, so the alley could expect me back soon.

Walking on the school grounds to actually get to the door was the best and worst part. All the nerds from the other districts (Shadow, River, and Wind) along with those from Thunder, cowered when I glanced over at them. I'd be turning twelve and entering the appropriate age to start at Forest Middle School, and then be back where I started- at the bottom of the food chain. So I relished this moment while it lasted. The students from Forest Middle School (at least those that were from Thunder) had little to no respect for me, especially the girls. But romance didn't interest me at all. The one student that I thought was worth looking at was an 8th grader called Tigerclaw. But he had very little patience for those younger than him, so I watched from a far and stood my ground.

I walked into the classroom with a shadow hanging over me as it always did. I took my seat at the back of the room next to Whitethroat, a kid from Shadow who was constantly coughing and sneezing everywhere. Probably got it from Runningnose, who was one year older than me. Our history teacher, Mr. Sunstar, walked into the room and glanced around at everyone, as if to make sure that no one had any blood on their faces and that we were all cheery and ready to learn. Please.

"Good morning class," He smiled as we replied like zombies, "Good morning, Mr. Sunstar." He nodded and sat down at his desk. It was always at this time that I decided to pull out my head phones and let them cover my ears. But I always got caught within the next twenty seconds. "Everyone, I think Darkpaw wants us to take a pop quiz," he looked over at me, as twenty six pairs of eyes followed the twenty six bodies that turned around in their chairs to glare at me. I responded by putting my feet on the desk, putting my right hand behind my head and lifting my left hand's middle finger.

Mr. Sunstar sighed and began to pass out the papers. I slid the paper over to my face and grabbed the nearest pencil scribbling down answers that came to my mind. I never got them right and I never tried. Tests were like good sex moves- either you got it, or you don't. I and I definitely didn't have it. For now ;)

Classes dragged by until- finally!- lunch. I took my customary spot on the bench in the shade outside and raised the peanut butter and jelly sandwich to my mouth, ready to take a bite. A shrill cry rang out from the other side of the yard and caused me to look over. A crowd of 7th grade boys were forming a circle around something, or someone, I couldn't see. I don't know what sick impulse made me do it, but I got up and started running to the group of boys.

I pushed one out of the way to see what their object of interest was: a younger boy, probably 9 or ten, with bleach blond hair and light blue eyes that were now filled with tears. He was being kicked repeatedly by a white haired boy, who I automatically recognized as Blackfoot- the six fingered kid. Without thinking I pushed Blackfoot off of him, setting a chorus of "oooooooohhhhhs" to come from his gang of Shadow kids and the now gathering crowd around us.

"What the hell, man?" He said as he stepped back and looked at me. Noticing my age, his frustrated face broke into a smirk that screamed a challenge. "I know who you are," he looked at my face as he said this, "Some rat from the alleys whose mama wanted so badly to put him in an orphanage because his birth was a disastrous mistake. Oh, don't tell me, you daddy probably died or something. In a freak car accident, am I right? Or was it shoot out or something'?"

He didn't know how right he was. I screamed and lunged at him, my fists connecting with his jaw as we rolled over and over in the dirt. His nails were clawing at my scalp, pulling at my hair, his teeth trying to somehow bite my face. We broke apart for a second to stand up and have a fresh go. But he was the one who was up first this time, ramming into me so that I sailed three feet through the air before landing on the gravely sidewalk, all the breath knocked out of me. I groaned and clutched my stomach as Blackfoot ran over and didn't hesitate to start kicking my guts out. Soon though, I heard my assailant half-gasp, half-choke as I felt the pain begin to leave me. I looked up and saw Tigerclaw, who had grabbed Blackfoot by the scruff of his shirt and was now punching him repeatedly in the eyes. He finished him off by giving him a hard blow to the nuts and left him crumpling to the ground, whimpering, his hands reaching for his valuables.

I looked up to see a hand reaching for me, seeing Tigerclaw's eyes going straight into mine. I took his hand, still a bit wobbly from the fight, and looked back up at him. He wasn't that much taller than me, but still enough to make a difference. "Um…thanks," I said, looking off to the side.

Tigerclaw let go of my hand and said, "I knew you'd get into a fight, but I didn't think it'd be protecting that." I had no idea what he was talking about until I followed his pointing finger over my shoulder to see the blond kid I'd completely forgotten about until now.

"Oh, yeah," I looked down sheepishly, clenching and unclenching my fists.

Tigerclaw looked over his shoulder at his friends, who were gesturing back to him, "Sorry, I gotta go," he took a step forward, but stopped, "You're Darkpaw, aren't you?" I nodded. A small smile seemed to form across his face, "We should hang out some time. I'm Tigerclaw. I think I know where you live. You wanna meet up in an alley tomorrow?" I nodded, unsure what to say. "Great. You pick the place, I'll find you," and he walked away.

I just stood there, stunned not caring about the trickles of blood that dropped onto the ground. I felt a tug on my shirt and turned around, seeing the younger boy. "Th-thanks," he stammered. I looked around, hoping for someone to rescue me again.

"Um, no problem," I managed to get out.

I started to leave but he called out, "My name's Longpaw." I turned around again. "And, just, thanks again!" I nodded and couldn't help but smile a little. Longpaw saw this and smiled back before running back to his lunch. Somehow, things just seemed to be going my way.


	2. Training Sessions and Parties

**Takashimo: Good, I'm glad. Not too many people see the good in him.**

As soon as my house was in sight I started to run. Run and laugh. I had never been so happy in my entire life. Tigerclaw actually spoke to me! My sneakers slapped the pavement over and over as the wind blew in my hair, making it appear more windblown than it had been, if that was even possible. I ran across the street just as a car zoomed past, the horn blaring, but not slowing down. Never slowing down, people around this neighborhood didn't care if I lived or died. Didn't even care if they were the one that killed me. It's not like Willowpelt would press charges.

Pulling back the iron gate that covered our door, I yanked on the doorknob and let myself in, dropping my backpack next to the fridge. "Darkpaw? Is that you?" Willowpelt's voice came from the living room.

I rolled my eyes as I trudged toward the sound, "Yeah, mom?"

"Could you come here, please? There's something I need to talk to you about." The fight at school I grinned, looking forward to the scolding, because after the scolding came the bragging of how I had won the fight and how the other guy didn't stand a chance. But when I came in and saw her she was sitting on a chair with her hands in her lap, no look of accusation in her eyes. "Sit down," her voice was soft, not as commanding, but I sat down anyway.

"As you know," she began, "I've been talking to Aunt Leopardfoot recently-" Really? No kidding I rolled my eyes again. Willowpelt cleared her throat and continued, "I've been talking to her recently, and we've decided that since you haven't gotten the chance to…" she faltered, "…meet your father," I could sense the discomfort lingering around her, "That you should really get to know your family more. Leopardfoot has some children- well, she did…her two daughters died," I came this close to a facepalm. Seriously, why would she even tell me that I had cousins if they were dead? Not that I would want anything to do with them, especially if they were related to Willowpelt.

"But she does have a son," Willowpelt continued, clearly ignoring my exasperation, "He goes to your school, a few years older than you. Tigerclaw." I practically leaped out of my chair as my eyes went as wide as moons.

"I'm related to Tigerclaw?" I exclaimed. Willowpelt looked slightly taken aback. I could tell she hadn't expected this kind of reaction from me. Then again, how would she know who I liked and who I didn't?

"Yes…" I sat back down again, as she spoke some more, "We're going to visit them tonight. Kind of a family reunion, which means there'll be family members from my side too…" I couldn't care less about her side of the family, I was going to see Tigerclaw tonight! In a house! Where everyone could see me with him! And best of all, there wouldn't be anyone else there who could distract him from me!

"When do we have to go?" I asked excitedly, cutting her off.

She still looked a bit cautious, as if I had turned into the excited, bubbling boy she had wanted me to be, but still couldn't believe it, "We're leaving at five. Is that okay with you?" I looked over the clock on the wall: 3:46. I could kill an hour. Or two. Who the hell cares how long, I'm going to see Tigerclaw!

"Yeah, that's great, mom!" I said as I ran out the door and up the stairs to my room. I shut the door and ran to the window, yanking it open so I could feel the cool breeze against my face again. I groped for the remote and turned on the stereo.

_I just can't escape_

_It's like you're here with me now_

_But the words you say_

_They always seem to fade out_

_Since you been away_

_I'm just a face in the crowd_

_Someday, Someday_

_I know you're coming back down_

"Someday, someday, I know you're coming back down" I sang as I rummaged through my piles of clothes, trying to find something that would impress Tigerclaw. Should I go for casual? Or formal? Damn, I should'a asked Willowpelt what kind of dress code it was. I can't go back down now, though, I'll look like a care. But hell, I do care!

Almost as soon as the song ended, I thought I heard a voice coming from outside. I switched off the stereo before the next song started and leaned my head out the window, craning my neck to see the front of the building. I recognized that blond kid from school, Longpaw?, knocking on the metal gate and yelling my name. I narrowed my eyes and shut the window. Yanking the bedroom door open I ran to the back of the hall and opened the door that led out to the fire escape. After clanging down a few steps and jumping down eight feet or so, I ran out to the front of the house to greet him. "Hey," I said, as soon as he stopped rattling the gate.

His face immediately lit up when he saw me, jumping down the side of the steps. "Hi, Darkpaw," he said as he made his way over to me. We both stood there for a while, neither one of us quite sure what to say. Finally, looking up at my house, he said, "Nice place you got here."

I leaned up against the brick wall, "Yeah, it's cool." I replied. I glanced down at my watch: 3:59. "So…" I got up and swung my arms a little, "What'cha doin' here?" And how the hell did you find me here? Was the question I really wanted to ask.

Longpaw looked up again, slightly more alert. Then, a little sheepishly, he answered, "Well, I thought it was really cool how you beat up Blackfoot and his gang today, and…" a bit of an exaggeration, but I'd take it, "Well, I was wondering if…" he trailed off, looking to the side. I motioned for him to continue, "If…" I folded my arms and gave him an impatient look. Seeing this, he hurried to finish, "If you could teach me how to fight like that?" It came out more of an exclamation than a question.

I squinted at him again in confusion, then glanced down at my watch: 4:01. I sighed inwardly and asked, "Why?"

"'Cause," Longpaw's shyness was quickly evaporating, "They're always picking on me! And if I had your skills, then I could finally get them to leave me alone! So can ya teach me? Please?" He was clenching his fists and holding them near his chest as if he were some six year old girl squealing at a kitten. I just looked at him again.

"Uh, yeah, sure," I finally replied, and he pumped his fists in the air, jumping a couple of times.

"Thanks, Darkpaw! Can we do something now?" He asked eagerly, hopping from one foot to the next.

I glanced around to make sure no one was watching before I said, "Yeah, but you'd better come to the back. If it looks like two boys are fighting it'll probably attract attention."

As we started towards the small courtyard, Longpaw half laughed as he said, "Yeah, I almost got mugged on my way over here!" No kidding, I thought dryly. I doubted he had anything on him worth something, except maybe his mother's wedding ring, if he'd taken it. If Willowpelt had ever been married, I probably would've taken hers, but thank StarClan that was never going to happen. The last thing I need is for Willowpelt to go marry some other douche and then have a child that I'll eventually have to kill for being too irritating.

About 45 minutes later I learned how gullible Longpaw was. I didn't know much about fighting, but Longpaw, with his eyes wide in awe, took it all in in the first second and started punching Willowpelt's small garden patch. I couldn't help but laugh hard enough that my insides started to hurt. Longpaw, looking relieved that those plants hadn't meant anything to me and that I found it hilarious, started laughing too. Maybe Longpaw could be cool if-

"Darkpaw! We need to leave in a couple of minutes!" Holy crap, I'm going to see Tigerclaw tonight! I looked over at Longpaw, who was still laughing, and cleared my throat. He stopped.

"You have to go now," I stated bluntly. He blinked, so I pressed, "I have to be somewhere, so…" nodding, he got up from where he'd been rolling around, and started towards the front of the house.

When he got to the sidewalk he turned around, his shyness coming back, and said, "So, maybe I could see you at school?" He smiled, hopefully.

I looked at him for a second before replying, "Uh, yeah, maybe…" Longpaw smiled and ran off, in the wrong direction. Suddenly remembering what I was going to do, I ran back into the house to grab a jacket. Should I wear a jacket? Or just this black t-shirt? Should my jeans be light blue or dark blue? Light blue- no! Dark blue. No wait!

"Darkpaw, let's go!" Willowpelt called from downstairs and I found myself tumbling down them for the second time today. I skidded into the backseat of the car and buckled in my seat belt, immediately rolling down the window so I could get a clear view of the path from my house to Tigerclaw's. We were silent the whole way there, which gave me a great opportunity to think about my possible future with a boy- no, a man!- as handsome and amazing as Tigerclaw.

"Whooooaa," I gawked at Tigerclaw's house. It was HUGE. Willowpelt had said that his father had been really rich. I guess after the divorce Aunt Leopardfoot had been the one to kick him out of his own house and keep all the money to herself, which didn't exactly hurt Tigerclaw.

Parking in the circular driveway, I hopped out of the car and trailed Willowpelt (who was dressed rather nicely) to the front door. On our way up the stone path she stopped and turned around to look at me. She looked me up and down and murmured under her breath, "Should've dressed up a little more," louder, she added, "Remember; be polite and don't try to make too much of a scene," Oh sure, too much of a scene. Just hurry up with it! I need to see Tigerclaw!

"Willowpelt!" A voice came from behind as the door opened. Leopardfoot was smiling, coming in for a hug. She and Willowpelt laughed as they greeted one another. Leopardfoot looked down at me and smiled, "And hello, Darkpaw," she bent down to give me a hug. Ugh, I tried to pull away but she was too quick. I stood rigid for the duration of the hug. "Do you know Tigerclaw?" she asked.

I looked up a little, "Yeah, is he here?" I asked.

"Yes," she replied, "I'm sure he'll be happy to see you." Really? We started into the mansion and instantly I was stunned. And irritated. It was a classy, large room with a grand staircase in the middle. But it was dimly lit. I had to squint to make out anyone. I scanned the crowd, which was hard, because everyone was too fucking tall.

"Oh my God," I moaned under my breath out of exasperation as I scanned the bodies, looking for Tigerclaw, but not finding him. I looked up to Leopardfoot with a questioning look. Willowpelt looked down at me, as if to scold me on how I should be "more polite" to the hostess, especially to my aunt.

She smiled and pointed up to a door on the second floor. "He's in his room. Just knock, I'm sure he'll open up right away. There are snacks and soda in the garage if you'd like anything." She and Willowpelt finally left and I ran up the stairs, tripping over the rug.

I sucked in a breath and knocked on the door. When Tigerclaw opened the door I took a step back. He was even more…amazing in this lighting. His eyes were a weird, yet hypnotizing, red that seemed to blend right into mine. He looked at me as if he were a little surprised, but then said, "Oh, hi Darkpaw. I guess your mom is here for the party?" I clasped my hands behind my back.

"Um, yeah" I said, "Your mom said I should come here…?" As if suddenly remembering something, Tigerclaw's face slipped into a look of recognition and he stepped aside, holding open the door for me to come in. I smiled shyly at him as I stepped into the room and looked around. It was relatively neat with a bed that was made up, ruffled a little from where he must've been lying in it. More importantly, it was big. There was also a balcony that looked over the backyard.

"So," he said, as he shut the door behind him, blocking out the sounds of everyone else. "What would you like to do?" I turned back around, and as I did so I noticed how we could both be seen in a mirror, and it was then that I could compare the two of us. I was a bit saddened by the huge contrast between my pale skin and his perfectly tanned skin. I turned around fully to face him and shrugged. He took a step closer and smiled a little, "It's a bit strange to see you out of school,"

"Yeah!" I agreed too quickly and mentally cursed myself for sounding so eager. But Tigerclaw didn't seem bothered as he walked over to the French doors that led out to the balcony, motioning for me to follow him. He opened the doors and, as he walked out to the edge, he looked back to make sure I was following. My eyes went wide as I looked at what was in the backyard. There was a huge, fully lit pool complete with bar, diving boards, and speakers underwater with a stereo on the patio. "That's so cool!" I couldn't hold back.

"Do you want to go swimming?" He asked. I turned around, my eyes going even wider than before.

"Really?" I asked, still in absolute awe. There's no way this could be happening! I was going to spend I night with Tigerclaw! Swimming! In his pool! I didn't even know he had a pool! "Sure! But-"

"You can borrow one of my pairs of swim trunks," he finished before I could say it. I broke into a huge smile, not quite believing my luck. Tigerclaw smiled back a little, not an excited, childish smile, but more like an amused, sophisticated, make-you-feel-safe-and-important smile. He was only 14 and yet he had the air of an adult.

"And you're sure your parents won't mind?" I asked for a final time. He shook his head as he walked back into the safety of his room and began to go through his closet, looking for the first set of clothes I would borrow from him.


	3. The Second Father

**xxSandystarxx: Wish granted, I have finally updated! And thank you :)**

Last night had just seemed like a dream. After going downstairs and slipping past the adults, Tigerclaw and I had made our way outside to the pool. When we got outside I realized something mortifying- the fact that I was pale. Not just fair skinned, no, but really, really pale. It was accented even more with the fact that most of my hair was black with the exception of the small silver stripes at the bottom. Hesitantly, I pulled my shirt off to expose myself, scarred that Tigerclaw wouldn't be impressed with my complexion. I stared long and hard as he pulled off his own shirt. Tigerclaw was only 14, but already he had developed a lot of muscle. Not to mention he was naturally tanned, something you really couldn't fake with a tanning booth.

I had starred for a little too long, noticing this when I saw him look at me quizzically. "Oh, sorry," I managed to get out, not sure why I was so nervous- I stare at people all the time. It only takes them about 10 seconds to turn around and notice the little yellow-eyed kid staring at them from under a table or behind a wall. I always laughed and made sure to disappear quickly whenever this happened. But with Tigerclaw, I could just stand there and hope that the whole thing hadn't happened.

After that, neither of us had said anything for a while. We had both sat down at the edge of the pool, Tigerclaw slowly swirling his finger in the water, me hugging my knees to my chest, staring down at my own reflection. I thought back to so many mornings just rushing to get out of the house, not giving the mirror a second thought. It was only now, in the blue, chlorinated waters of Tigerclaw's pool, that I really saw what I looked like.

My hair was black, yes, but it might just be a little gray- not enough to be noticeable though. I didn't get haircuts as regularly as the rest of the boys in my class did, nor did I brush it as much. It just kind of curved around my head, hanging in down in strands since I only really took a shower once a week, at the most. I wasn't that fit, but I wasn't fat, not at all. I couldn't tell much, but I knew I wasn't nearly as handsome as Tigerclaw.

"You know," he finally spoke, "I never thought I'd actually see you here. At my house, I mean," he finished.

I looked up and nodded. "Yeah," was the only thing I could say.

"Do you ever swim?" He asked next. I shook my head, realizing that I'd never actually had the chance to swim, therefore I didn't know how. Okay, not getting in the pool tonight. "I used to," Tigerclaw continued, "Well, my mom and dad would take me and my sisters into the pool when we were toddlers. We couldn't actually swim ourselves."

I looked up in surprise, "You have sisters?"

"Did," he replied, "They died early on. The doctors said that out of the three of us, I was most likely to die. But I proved them wrong. After my sisters' death is when my dad left us. My mom was sad, and all I remember was being angry." He stopped for a second, "Do you have any siblings?"

"No," I couldn't help but sigh in relief and smile. "The idea with sharing my house with anyone but my mom just seems disgusting. I hate sharing it with her, but soon enough…"

"Soon enough what?" Tigerclaw prompted. It was then I noticed something change in him, a little shift, a small perk of interest that I didn't understand at the time. I little gleam in the eyes, and sudden smirk beginning to pull at his lips. "You'll get rid of her? Be alone?" I looked at his narrowed eyes, his inviting face, and all I could do was nod. In a quieter tone, he asked, "Do you want to be alone?" We seemed so close now that I'm pretty sure I could've reached out to touch him and retract my hand so quickly that he wouldn't have noticed.

But I didn't get the chance to. "Darkpaw! It's time to go!" Willowpelt was standing in the now open and lit doorway with Leopardfoot, calling out to me. I got up reluctantly, reaching for my shirt and pulling it on.

"Come say goodbye to Darkpaw and Aunt Willowpelt, Tigerclaw!" Leopardfoot called out more gently. It was strange, I thought, that Willowpelt yelled and treated me like some sort of criminal who'd committed too many crimes to be saved when I was only eleven, and Leopardfoot spoke to Tigerclaw as if he were still five years old and treated him like an angel, even though he was fourteen.

"Bye, Darkpaw," We were at the front door now, standing to the side so other people could get to their cars and drive off. "Thanks for coming, I'll see you at school," Tigerclaw looked down at me with Leopardfoot's hand on his shoulder, restricting him from anything.

"Bye," it came out more like a whisper as Willowpelt dragged me down the steps and toward the car, so I raised my hand to wave too. Even as I was staring out the car window in the opposite direction of Tigerclaw's house, I still felt a tingly sensation in my chest, not sure what it was exactly, but knowing that I never wanted it gone.

I turning the street corner, my school coming into view. I saw cars pulling up, kids hopping out, kissing their moms on the cheek. I was surprised to see Tigerclaw come out of one of these cars, I never really saw him arrive at school at all, he was just there. Why didn't I want to see him? I ducked my head down a little and speed-walked towards the doors. Too late. "Darkpaw!" I turned around, seeing Tigerclaw walking toward me. Up close in daylight, he looked even better than last night. He was wearing a dark blue button down shirt (which was not buttoned in all places) and black skinny jeans, a combination that only he could pull off.

I looked down at my own white t shirt and jeans and suddenly felt self-conscience. "It was fun having you over last night," he said, snapping me back to reality.

"Yeah," I replied, nodding. I looked around. Some other kids were staring, whispering, probably new rumors about how I'd teamed up with Tigerclaw to destroy the rest of my classmates. Sadly, this was far from true.

"Look," he brought me back again, "I'm sorry I didn't find in you in the alleys yesterday." I looked at him quizzically, then remembered suddenly what we'd said yesterday and how I'd spent that time with Longpaw.

"Oh," I said suddenly, "I'm sorry, I was just-"

"It's fine," Tigerclaw put up his hand to stop me. "I was also coming to say that I'm sorry I can't hang out with you today during school. But I'd be happy to walk you home later, if that's okay with you."

I could only nod. Tigerclaw was coming home with me? He was actually going to walk me home? He had chosen to spend time with me, all on his own? I nodded again, more sure of myself. "Great," he said, then walked off in the direction of his friends. My time with Tigerclaw wouldn't have to end at 3:10 pm today, like it always had. It could go on and on and on.

"You! I gotta talk to you!" It was lunch time now, and the effects of Tigerclaw's offer had worn off, just a little. But enough to be able to confront Longpaw whole-heartedly. Longpaw turned around, startled, but then calmed when he saw it was me. But not for long.

I marched over to him until we were only inches apart. "You're the reason I missed my meeting with Tigerclaw yesterday! If you hadn't come over to my house, I would've-"

"You were meeting with Tigerclaw yesterday?" Longpaw looked up at me in amazement, either ignorant to the fact that I was mad at him, or just trying to ignore it.

"_Would've _met up with him. But instead, I was busy 'training' you."

Longpaw looked down for a second, "Oh, sorry about that," We were both quiet for a moment, the sounds of kids laughing and screaming in delight going on behind us. "But hey, check out what I can do!" Longpaw's confidence was quickly replenished, as he brought over his half-empty water bottle and set it down gently on the ground. Not liking where he put it, Longpaw furrowed his brow and placed the bottle up on the wall people normally sat on. The wall reached only to my knees, making it rise above Longpaw's knees high enough that he almost had to struggle to get up onto it.

Standing with his right foot back and left foot in front, Longpaw took a swing with his right leg at the bottle, and knocked it onto the ground with his foot in a clean sweep. Unfortunately, he'd put too much momentum into it, and went spinning in the opposite direction and fell down, hard.

"Um, you okay?" I asked tentatively. I almost wanted to reach down to him like Tigerclaw had to me, but I decided against it.

Longpaw got up, rubbing his back. "Yeah," he replied, "It's a good thing I got this fuzzy sweater to protect me!" It was only now that I noticed what he was wearing, and I was surprised I didn't notice earlier. Longpaw was wearing possibly one of the fuzziest red sweaters I'd ever seen- I swear, effing puff balls were coming out of that thing.

"Um…yeah," I was beginning to think that "um" had become my new favorite word. "But that was a good kick," I had to admit I was a little impressed.

Longpaw's face lit up even more, "You think so?"

I nodded, "Sure," I replied. Looking up at the clock on the side of the building I noticed it was almost time for us to go in. Packing up my things I turned my head back as I began walking towards the school, "Maybe now you can protect yourself against Six-Fingers again,"

"Yeah," Longpaw looked down again, not moving towards his own lunch. "Maybe."

"So how long have you been living here?" The day had dragged by slowly, all in anticipation for these ten minutes of bliss with Tigerclaw, who was now asking me questions.

"Since forever," I replied.

"That's a long time," he nodded solemnly, not pursuing the question. So far, I had not asked anything, just answered. But now, a question did occur to me.

"How did you know where I live?" He seemed a bit taken aback by this.

"What do you mean?" I guess I was a little puzzled too, not sure why I asked.

"Well," I began, "You offered to walk me home, and when we began the walk, you seemed perfectly at ease, not really needing to follow me. You actually seemed to get ahead of me a few times."

Tigerclaw shrugged, "If I had gotten that far ahead I would've waited for you at all the turns. I'm not familiar with this neighborhood."

"Okay," I continued, wanting to believe that, "But what about when you said you'd find me in the alley I was in yesterday? You just said now that you weren't familiar with the neighborhood- how would you even know where to start?"

Tigerclaw looked straight ahead, "There aren't that many alleys in this town. I'm sure I would've figured it out." Even if I had wanted to, there was no more time to ask questions. We were coming up to my house now, and unless I wanted to ask more questions, I'd have to invite him into my house. "I'm guessing this is the place?" He asked, noticing that we had stopped.

"Yeah, not really impressive," Tigerclaw just smiled a little and shrugged for the third time today. I was about to invite him inside when I saw something peculiar- two cars were parked in my driveway. One was obviously Willowpelt's beat up silver Volvo, but the other one was one I didn't recognize. It was a white Ford, no dents to be found¸ just sitting there as if it was quite at home.

"I'll see you later, Darkpaw. Have a nice evening," And with that, Tigerclaw smiled and left back in the direction of the school, where, at the end of the street, there was a bus stop where he would catch a bus to the nearest stop to his palace home where a loving mother would be waiting for him. Waiting for me, though, was a demon mother with a mysterious Ford-driving stranger.

I unlocked the gate and open the door cautiously, peering inside, not seeing anything but our dusty kitchen and a few empty cereal bowls left out here and there. Slipping in, I set down my back pack gently and shut the door. As soon as I did, a voice called out from the living room, "Darkpaw? Is that you?" Willowpelt.

"Yeah!" I called out. Who else would it be?

"Come in the living room, please," I was scared. Her voice wasn't sharp and demanding like it usually was. It wasn't gentle, but it wasn't a command. It was a request, but not a demand.

I walked in and slowed down, narrowing my eyes suspiciously, trying to hide my surprise. Sitting next to Willowpelt on the couch was a man, about her age with white and black hair and a nice flannel shirt that did nothing to bring out his pale yellow eyes. He was wearing khakis and nicely polished shoes, which didn't seem to match the length of his hair, which went down to his shoulders. His hand was on top of hers in between them on the cushions.

"Darkpaw," Willowpelt began. "This is your Uncle Patchpelt," I looked more closely at the man- Patchpelt, apparently- who smiled kindly back at me. I looked back at Willowpelt, as if to say "So?" Picking up on it, she continued, "He's going to be living with us for a while."


	4. The Trio Is Born

**Frost Filly: Thanks for all the reviews! Don't worry, this story will not finish without Whitestorm...and who ever he brings with him...**

15 minutes later I'm sitting in the passenger side of the Ford, driving down to Lake Green Leaf with Uncle Patchpelt. "So…" his voice trails off as my eyes lazily slide over to his general direction. After Willowpelt had said those words all I could do was stare and dart my eyes back and forth between the two of them.

"What? Why?" I had almost screamed, more at Patchpelt than at Willowpelt.

"Darkpaw, calm down," Willowpelt had tried to get me to sit down, but I wouldn't. "You need a male role model in your life, you're out of control! And Patchpelt-"

"Out of control!?" I wasn't out of control! "What the fuck do you mean 'out of control!?'"

Willowpelt had fixed me with a stern gaze while Patchpelt, obviously uncomfortable, had patted her hand, saying, "Let the kid let it go for a bit,"

"Ugh!" I threw my hands in the air, "And what's a 'male role model' going to do? We'd be better off with Tawnyspots!" Willowpelt bit her lip and I saw a few of her fingers tighten their grip on the couch cushion.

"Patchpelt is my brother," she was speaking a bit more softly, but sharply, "He's trustworthy and responsible. He's not going to be your father, but he is going to stay with us for a while," I opened my mouth to speak again, but she continued, raising her voice a little at the beginning, "And, the two of you are going to spend time with one another to..." she began nodding her head, as if the answer would be dislodged by doing that, "get used to one another."

"We could go down to the lake," Patchpelt suggested, trying to be helpful, "I hear Lake Green Leaf is beautiful this time of year," More quietly to Willowpelt, he said, "Now, how do I get there?"

"I'm sure it's on Google Maps," she replied.

He furrowed his brow before saying, "Yeah, I'm not really sure how to use that…is that connected at all with the Me Tubes everyone's talking about?" I rolled my eyes and turned to go upstairs.

"Be back down here in five minutes, Darkpaw!" Willowpelt had yelled after me as I slammed the door shut and grabbed the nearest hoodie. And now the two of us were turning onto the dirt road that led down to Green Leaf Lake, Patchpelt's Satan-voiced GPS giving us un-needed directions. Now my head was leaning against the glass, half awake, the awake part of me thinking of all the ways to drive him out of the house. It's not that I wanted Willowpelt all to myself, oh, God no. I just didn't need another stupid adult "watching over me" and screaming at me for things I might've done.

"Do you come down here often?" Patchpelt asked, trying to break the ice.

"No." I stared straight ahead, not bothering to look in his direction.

Patchpelt tried again, "Have you ever come down here?"

"No."

"Do your friends ever come down here?"

"No."

"Has your mom ever-"

"For the love of Jesus, shut up! Nobody ever comes down here, my friends don't exist, and seriously, my mom couldn't care less about where I was going anyway! God!" I slumped back down in my seat, pulling my hood over my eyes some more.

There was silence for a moment, "You know," Patchpelt gave it a third try, "There's a cemetery behind the lake,"

"No there's not," _Yes there is_, a voice in the back of head argued with the one that came out the front.

"Your mom told me you were into…that sort of stuff," He continued, obviously not wanting to repeat her exact words. Before I had a chance to reply we were coming to a stop. I pushed myself out of the car, squinting my eyes as the sun came into full view. "Why don't you take that hood off?" Patchpelt called from the other side of the car, "Makes the world a lot brighter,"

I zipped up my sweater in response. Patchpelt shrugged and began to walk along side of the lake. I just stood there, refusing to go anywhere with him, until he disappeared into the woods. A few seconds passed; nothing. A minute passed, then, "Aren't you coming?"

"Coming where?" I yelled back, not even half interested.

"To the cemetery!" He called back, as he faded back into the brambles. My curiosity got the better of me as I pushed myself off the side of the car and jogged over to where Patchpelt was. He smiled as I caught up with him. I just glared back.

It seemed like hours went by as we stumbled through the thicket, not bothering to take the path for whatever reason, and finally coming up to a small hill that led up the cemetery. "Do you know who's buried up there?" Patchpelt asked. I shook my head, not sure what he was getting at, but hoping it wasn't just some famous person I was supposed to care about. "I'm surprised," he continued, "I would've thought you'd know,"

"Whoever it is, whatever he did, I couldn't care less," I didn't break my pace, climbing up the hill that seemed a lot steeper than it probably was.

The corners of Patchpelt's mouth twisted into a mischievous grin as he said, "Really. I think you'll care a lot about what he did." I rolled my eyes at him for the second time that day as we finally made it into the graveyard. It was quite over grown, with a few head stones pushed to the side and some statues knocked over here and there. No fresh burials had happened here, obviously, at least within the past five years. You could barely make out any of the writing on the stones, yet they were haunting in their own special way.

I jumped as I felt a hand on my shoulder, turning around to realize it was only Patchpelt, "The newer graves are over there," He pointed near the back where a few stones lay underneath the branches of a weeping willow. "Why don't you go check those out?" Yeah, define "new". But I walked over to where he was pointing anyway, not bothering to step around the fallen stones. Once I got there I nonchalantly began to scan the names on the stones which, despite the conditions of the all the others, you could kind of make out.

"Sunstar Berthiaume…" I murmured the names to myself, "Robinwing Hager…..Poppydawn Prokop…Tawnyspots Mccoubrey….." Wait. I looked back at the last one, a small stone with the name Tawnyspots. The rest of the stones I had looked at had had little inscriptions along with the dates, things loved ones had asked be written on the stones to help send them off to StarClan or Heaven or wherever these people went. But there was nothing written on Tawnyspots' gravestone, only his name and his birth to death date. And that was all.

Patchpelt came up behind me and rested his hands on his hips, "You expressed interest in your father," He said, "Or so Willowpelt tells me. So I thought I might take you to see where he was buried," I nodded, still a bit speechless. The first time I had brought it up when I was four, asking where daddy was, Willowpelt had told me that he had been shot and that his body was taken by the killers to be used in a cult ritual. Now I could see that that had been a lie. Patchpelt let me be as I sat down on the grass, just staring at the stone, wondering if I was like him at all.

"So how did it go?" I was back in school and it was lunch time. I had been sitting in the small "garden" in the shade, my back against the wall, when Tigerclaw had sat down next to me. Neither of us had said anything for a while, not until now.

"How did what go?" I replied through bites.

"That car we saw in your drive way," he explained, "What was that all about?"

I swallowed, "Oh, that was…my Uncle, Patchpelt,"

"And what did he want?" Tigerclaw pressed, barely touching his own food.

"Um…" I wasn't exactly sure what to say. As much as I admired Tigerclaw and wanted him to trust me, I wasn't sure if I could replay that part of the day in my head back to him. "He just wanted to spend time with me, that's all."

"Huh," Tigerclaw seemed to consider this for a while, then said, "What are you doing tonight?"

This caught me completely off guard. The questions "What are you doing tonight" is something I'd seen Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza ask girls on the sitcom _Seinfeld_ as a way of asking them out. "Nothing, I guess," Unsure of anything else to say.

"Then how about we go on a little adventure," he continued. The way he said it just sent shivers up my spine.

"What were you thinking of?" I asked, hoping my voice didn't come out sounding scared.

Tigerclaw must've noticed the look on my face, fore he said, "We don't have to, if you don't want to,"

"No, no," I shook my head, not wanting to disappoint him, "What were you thinking of?"

A small smile played across his lips as he replied, "There's this cemetery near Green Leaf Lake. You know the one I'm talking about?" My throat went dry, but I nodded anyway. "Well, I was thinking…" Tigerclaw trailed off to let the suspense build, "Maybe we should go there tonight and explore a little. See what we can find? You can bring someone else along if you want to," he added this last part, seeing as I hadn't blinked since he'd said this. I turned away for a moment, scanning the playground to see if there was anyone worthy of this expedition. My eyes rested, of course, on the only person who'd ever wave to me enthusiastically in front of a large group of people.

Tigerclaw followed my gaze, "Good choice," I couldn't tell if he meant it or not. "You know how to get to the lake, right?" I nodded. "Good," he said again, "I'll meet you there at 7." He got up with his unfinished lunch and left to go meet some other friends. Meanwhile, I got up to tell Longpaw what we were doing tonight.

"It's cold…It's getting dark….maybe we should go back?" By now I highly regretted my choice of choosing to bring a "friend" let alone Longpaw, who hadn't shut up since we'd entered the woods and were making our way toward the graveyard. I turned back to him, still walking, "Then you should've warn a warmer sweater, of course it's getting dark, the sun doesn't stay up forever, and no, we are _not_ going back!" I whispered as sharply as I could for the millionth time that night.

It was time for Tigerclaw to intervene, "Longpaw," the three of us stopped as Tigerclaw turned around to face him. His voice was surprisingly gentle as he stooped down a little, looked him right in the eye, and said, "If you're scared, or don't feel comfortable doing this, you can go. Darkpaw and I will be just fine by ourselves." I folded my arms and looked down at him, my eyebrows cocking up in a mock question. Longpaw looked from me to Tigerclaw, then straightened up and put on a brave face.

"I'll stay," he replied. Tigerclaw smiled and patted his shoulder. As he turned away from him he faced towards me for a second. In that second he gave me a different kind of smile, one that suggested that there was something funny that only the two of us knew.

We continued through the woods until we reached the base of the hill. The three of us looked up, seeing the silhouettes of the remaining statues stand out in front of the setting sun. Tigerclaw was on my left, Longpaw was on my right, and even though it was unusually warm that night, I could help but feel cold, as if something was going wrong in all the right ways.


End file.
